Category: Creativity

Why not Wednesday? By Land Or By Sea

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I found my road trip album! A couple of friends told me I would enjoy Indie Pop music. I doubted, echoing the over used ‘whatever.’ I heard some and it was ok. ‘Talk Talk Talk’ I figured. Then I got a glimpse of Lute’s & Liar’s “By Land Or By Sea.” I couldn’t put it down.

Refreshing
The Album is like a fresh cold class of sweet tea on a hot summers day. It’s been a long time since an album’s caught my ear’s attention. Each song stands on its own and together they make an enjoyable adventure in music. I rarely buy albums, usually just a song or two. This one I can’t get enough of. I listen to one song and then I’m onto the next.

Playful
The lyrics have hints of irony, word play, and wit. They’re part of what makes this a great road trip album. It feels as though the band is just enjoying themselves and happen to be recording. The sound as well carries a playfulness to it. Keeping a fresh variety with each song adds to the playfulness.

Art
I don’t often get to enjoy music for the sake of enjoying music- there is often something driving it. Sitting back and just taking the work of the band as a work of art on its own delighted me. It is hard for me to describe, but as a genre of music I had some doubts. By Land Or By Sea leads me to believe Indie Pop has tons of merit. For sure the album stands on its own as good art.

The bottom line:
I admire the risk Lutes & Liars took in producing and recording By Land Or By Sea. I was wrong, Indie Pop is some sweet stuff. The album is catchy and worth the time listening ‘On The Road.’ I found my road trip album I was looking for this summer!

Why not Wednesday? Beauty of 2nd chance

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Sitting at a vista looking at the snow capped Olympics got me thinking….

According to a creationist account the beautiful scene I was enjoying resulted from a massive mistake (The Flood account). God can turn bad situations to something beautiful. Don’t fear mistakes. It may be God painting a new masterpiece in your life!

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Why not Wednesday? Embrace complexity

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There is a significant push in life and ministry for simplicity. In our quest for simplicity  don’t ignore the complex realities of life. Often in focusing on one thing we forget how it impacts other issues. We often want bullet points, sound bites, or commercials, but what is required is more involved. Here is a short clip that illustrates this:

Why not Wednesday? iDeas

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The best ideas for your field is often not found in your field. I love collecting proverbs, and this one is a big one. The proverb came from 3 things: Bible, Graphics Arts, and Kelly. If you are stuck, here are some ideas on taking the next step.

Bible
In studying wisdom literature a key theme stands out: wisdom comes from afar. It is a key aspect and pattern. This isn’t a contrast between man and God’s wisdom, but it is a picture of how wisdom is a pursuit. It’s beyond and one must seek it. Between proverbs and Ephesians there is a relationship between godliness and wisdom. One requires and builds on the other. Ephesians describes wisdom as a process. “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise.”

Graphics Arts
Some of the best discussions and ‘how to’s’ of collaboration is found in the graphic arts industry. Successful graphic art involves taking complex ideas and making them understandable. It involves merging complexity, essential concepts, and organization. One could define graphic arts as the merging of left and right-brained activities for effective communication. One consistent piece of advice in graphic arts is getting away. Not to learn about their field, but to learn about something unrelated- and there is where some of the best ideas arrive.

Kelly
“Old cars look like wagons.” Kelly and I were walking through the Henry Ford Museum. As we were walking through the cars section we saw the evolution of the horseless carriage. You can see lock in- a car must be a self-powered vehicle to a car being its own thing. Our understanding of technology and life changes things. You can see stages of development. The challenge is how to you get out of your box? The car industry is filled with failures and triumphs. There is a process: discovery, replication, barrier, new discovery.

The bottom line:
If you’re stuck, look outside your field. Sometimes you need a fresh look at something different to help you get to the next step. This is true of many things in life. After all, the Bible tells us to seek wisdom.

Why not Wednesday? Failed ideas…

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Irony: 747 became the best cargo option for the 787 projectIdeas can fail for a few reasons:
Bad idea
Bad timing
Bad placing

Take a look at failed ideas and think through if they will work again? People’s initial reaction to anything new is often NO! Very few people just grab on to any change. Take a look in your closet of failed ideas. Today may be the day where it will be a:
Good idea
Good timing
Good placing

Erie Canal vs Steam locomotive
Grace concern arose in NY over the horseless carriage as it may destroy the economy surrounding the Erie Canal. NY survived the paradigm shift to trains, and the canal became a thing of history (and awesome school field trips).

Cargo Plane vs Jumbo Jet
Boeing failed the large cargo plane competition. However, the ideas developed for the project turned into the most successful jumbo jet- the 747. One failed idea turned into an iconic aircraft.

100’s of failures vs 1 mistake
The lightbulb was discovered by a mistake after hundreds of failures.

The bottom line:
A failed idea may not be a bad idea. Sometimes ideas we had that did not work then may work now. And then again, they may not work now. But, you’re likely wiser and more experienced than you were on the first attempt.

Why not Wednesday? Embrace constraints

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Need means that which is essential. It is surprisingly small. In ministry you only need three things: Bible, People, A place to meet. That’s it. If necessity is the father of invention, then constraints is the mother of creativity.

The little camps that do
Camp Hickory Hill embraced creativity. Its speakers were largely the staff, mostly college student. Its activities and adventures made up with minimum supplies and resources. I have interacted with well resourced camps, seen them in action. But, their leadership development and problem solving skills do not even come close. There is a quality to “lesser” camps that cannot beat, and they are the qualities you’d want you kid to have. I have heard this statement from camps like Hickory Hill: “They don’t have ___________, but the ministry here is incredible!” Bible, People, A place to meet.

Engaged impact as best
When all was falling apart, I made the call to just pray. Prayer is an essential. This move was bigger, though. Prayer cannot just be an easy fallback. While it was in the first instance, it was intentional on the others. Why? Because a seemingly boring and less than sparkly event had the greatest impact. (Note to self, play towards child-like faith.) The kids engaged in prayer with greater passion and focus than most adult prayer services I have been too. Engagement is best. Entertainment is fleeting. Bible, People, A place to meet.

Singspiration
I attended a singspiration event on a missions trip that took a joyful noise to a whole new level. Wanting to howl like a dog, the singing was so bad, one could not help but notice the passion in the room. A quote from a Civil War documentary said “Abraham Lincoln was so ugly there was a beauty to him.” That described the singspiration. It affected the students more than anything else on the trip. Bible, People, A place to meet.

Captain Kirk
“I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.” Ok, this may not be the most spiritual example, but watching the creative exploits of Captain Kirk and crew always got me thinking about how to be creative, to problem solve. It developed a key skill, how to take what you have and use it to communicate and carry out what is most important. Creativity far outweighs any teaching style or method. Bible, People, A place to meet.

Constraints means faith
Embracing constraints means utilizing faith in what you have instead of praying for what you don’t have. Bible: It is the central message we are communicating. That God wants to be known and to know us. People: The Holy Spirit empowers His people. Jesus died for people. People can pray, people can sing. People make ministry happen. A place to meet: Ministry is not a solo business. It can happen anywhere, in anything. Grassy field, tent, building, house, underground catacombs… The church never runs out of space, it just needs to plant to other venues. Space issues are often paradigm issues, and a paradigm is a self-imposed constrain on a non-essential. Bible, People, A place to meet.

The bottom line:
All you need to make ministry happen is Bible, People, A place to meet. I say this because in many parts of the world that is all the church has. I love technology, good music, sound systems, great architecture, books, toys, gadgets and gizmos galore. But, those are not essential. Ministry constraints are often self-imposed from a foundation of non-essentials. The only thing that can block church growth is no Bible, no people, no place to meet. Embrace constraints, they force you to focus on what is essential.

Why not Wednesday? Looking back to look forward

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We all had dreams and passions throughout life. We sometimes were even criticized for them, and then slowly walked away from those core dreams or passions. They’re important, they are part of who we are. Take time to stop and smell the roses. Think through these questions:

1) What was I most passionate about as a child….as a teen…as a college student…?

2) Have I lost those passions or dreams? Why or why not?

3) Should I bring back that passion? (Maybe how it looks is vastly different then our first idea, but the essence and passion is still there to grab a hold of.)

First loves are an important thing. We can easy lose our grip on what is core to who we are. We never know what will trigger this though process. For me, it was reading a book. As I was reading it, I kept asking why it struck such a huge core. Well, the things discussed were core to my passion as a teenager. It’s refreshing to bring that back.

Bottom line:

Stop and smell the roses, reflect on past dreams and passions. They will fuel future and current challenges you are facing.

Why not Wednesday: Be a kid!

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“Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” ~Jesus

We often hear the line “child-like faith.” Jesus uses children to teach about humility and faith. Other than the disciples, children are the only group Jesus blesses in his earthly ministry. Leaders in children’s ministry love this verse. (We love other verses too!) In watching my two boyz grow, I’m learning more and more that child-like faith is not about simple trust or joyous abandon. I’m also thinking that children as a model of humility is less about their status. Here is what my boyz are teaching me about child-like faith.

“Amazing!”
My oldest son when I brought (OK, dragged) our first real Christmas tree into the house, stood in complete amazement. The word he used: Amazing! My youngest started kicking and flailing his arms as mom held him in a way he could see the tree. It was big, it was huge. And, after all dad’s kicking, screaming and complaining about a dumb ol’ tree in our house, two boyz changed my heart (my wife gave me the “see I told you so” look). The little and big things are equally amazing to kids. Jadon had the same reaction to the ice machine, the moon, ice cream, toy trains, the list goes on. Kids get amazement. They get wonder. But, its more than just the newness my boyz eagerly seek amazement. Its wired into their DNA. The quest for amazement is a skill we lose or forget.

“Daddy! Daddy!”
Daddy! Daddy! Means the same thing as Jesus saying “Truly truly, I say unto you!” Its not enough for a kid to be amazed. When amazed, we HAVE to share about it. Whether its demonstrating a newly conquered skill, or some simple thing they discovered, kids talk about it. They have to. Discovery is the root of their joy. What is learned and enjoyed must be shared- except with a brother or another child. We’ll talk about depravity at another time. Kids talk. They share what is most valuable- their hopes, dreams, and mostly the little things of life. Its wired into their DNA. The desire to share is a skill we lose or forget.

MA-MAAAAA!!!
When it comes to being hurt, dad is second fiddle to mom. Kids get the ministry of presence. But, my boyz get mad if I’m not around, even though its mama they want to play with or hold them. Jadon grabbed my hand once, sat me down on the couch and then took my wife’s and took her to the choo-choo’s. When I got up to go to the kitchen, play stopped and Jadon looked at me. He did not resume until dad was back in the picture. Kids get that people are the most important thing. People are more important than the task or what is being done. And whether it’s being held, or just being near, kids thrive on presence. Its wired into their DNA. The importance of people is a value we lose or forget.

CHOO-CHOO’S! Train. Train. Trains!?
Kids are devoted. When they like something, they want more. And more. And more. You get the picture. But, they don’t just want it- they CRAVE it! Jadon cannot get enough trains. Gavin cannot get enough doors for him to open. They must have more. They celebrate what they love. They ask for what they love and they go crazy when they get it. What they love is bigger than life. You do not have to convince them they know it. Its wired into their DNA. Devotion is a value we lose or forget.

Child-like faith is being amazed at, sharing, being there for, and being fully devoted to God and the people He places in our life. Sure, simple trust and joyous are a part of that, but those barely scratch the surface. Children are not simple followers. They are much, much more, and we would be wise to re-learn the skills that were once a part of our DNA.

Why Not Wednesday: Rearranging Deck Chairs

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The cliche “that’s just rearranging deck chairs” has a negative connotation, but sometimes that is exactly what is needed. Slight changes are seemingly insignificant. Rearranging of things can open up a world of possibilities. One of the best things to help build creative muscle is to just move things around, take on a different perspective. It adds freshness, and keeps you from getting into a rut. It helps you become aware of things around you, and may help you at least find some lost pens.

Rearrange your deck chairs:
Move things around on your desk. Is the phone on your right really the best place?
Move your living-room furniture around
Take a different route home from work, and park differently.
Rearrange a friends desk… Enjoy your co-worker trying to figure out what’s different.
Set your desktop differently, if you’re a Mac user, move the dock to the side instead of the bottom.
Change how you normally arrange you library on iTunes.
Reverse your meal, eat dessert first, then the main course, then appetizer…Better yet, go out to eat and do this. When he brings you the bill for dessert, order a meal, then, when he brings the bill again, order and appetizer…

Bottom line:
Rearrange your “deck chairs.”